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TOEIC Link Part 5: respectively versus respectfully

Respectively maps items to a list in matching order. Respectfully describes doing something with respect. Part 5 tests whether the slot is pairing things up or describing a manner.

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TOEIC Link Part 5: respectively versus respectfully

Respectively and respectfully share a root but do opposite jobs in a sentence. Respectively is a mapping word — it tells the reader that two or more things line up with two or more other things in the same order they were named. Respectfully is a manner word — it means "in a way that shows respect." One organizes a list; the other describes how an action is done. Decide whether the slot is matching items up or describing behavior, and the choice is clear. For another pair where the grammar around the word decides everything, see than versus then.

The core rule: mapping versus manner

  • respectively = in the order already given (adverb, usually at the end of a clause): The Tokyo and Osaka offices opened in 2019 and 2021, respectively. / Ms. Tan and Mr. Cole will lead sales and marketing, respectively.
  • respectfully = with respect, politely (adverb of manner): She respectfully declined the offer. / The report respectfully disagrees with the committee's finding.

A memory hook: respectively relates one set of items to another (think "respective to each"); respectfully is full of respect.

How to read the slot

The two words sit in different grammatical company.

  • respectively needs two parallel lists in the sentence — a set of subjects and a set of values, names and roles, places and dates. It almost always lands at the very end and adds no new information except "match these up in order." Remove a list and respectively has nothing to organize.
  • respectfully modifies a single verb of action or attitude: respectfully request, respectfully submit, respectfully ask, respectfully disagree. It describes the tone of one action, not the order of a list.

So the fastest test: are there two matched lists that need pairing? Then it is respectively. Is the slot describing the polite manner of one action? Then it is respectfully.

Common Part 5 traps

  • Two names plus two roles at the end of a clause is respectively. Lee and Park were named CFO and COO, (blank) — the slot pairs each name with each title, so it is respectively.
  • Formal verbs of request take respectfully. We respectfully request your approval and I respectfully submit are fixed business phrases. Never write "respectively request."
  • No second list means respectively is wrong. If only one set of items appears, the mapping word has nothing to map. Check for a pair of lists before choosing it.
  • "declined / disagreed (blank)" is manner. Declining or disagreeing in a polite way is respectfully, an attitude, not an ordering.

Quick check

Decide whether the slot pairs two lists in order (respectively) or describes a polite manner (respectful), then choose.

  1. The morning and afternoon sessions will be held in Rooms A and B, (blank).
  2. The board (blank) requests that all proposals be submitted by Friday.
  3. Q1 and Q2 revenue rose 4% and 7%, (blank).
  4. He (blank) declined the committee's invitation to chair the panel.

Answers: 1. respectively (sessions map to rooms in order) 2. respectfully (the manner of the request) 3. respectively (quarters map to figures) 4. respectfully (the polite manner of declining).

The takeaway

Keep the two jobs apart: if the slot is lining up two lists in matching order, write respectively and expect it at the end of the clause; if it is describing an action done with respect, write respectfully and expect a verb like request, submit, or decline nearby. Respective-to-each maps; full-of-respect describes manner. For more pairs where one detail decides the answer, see affect versus effect and precede versus proceed.